Story of Four: Prologue
by christian-cat100
Summary: WOULD SOMEONE TELL ME IF I SHOULD CONTINUE THIS STORY! rated for mild violence. R&R. No flames. 3 chapter up.
1. Chapter 1

The Story of Four

Prologue

"Oh, Silas!" the white queen purred. "Aren't they adorable?"

"Not as beautiful as you are, my dear," Silas smiled. "Now what shall we name them, Griddlebone? They must have strong Jellicle name."

"Two toms and two queens. Which two are magicians again?"

"The two that look like me, the tuxedos," the black and white tom replied. "Let's name the queen magician Bethany and the tom Mistoffelees."

"My turn!" Griddlebone said with a wink. "This tom looks strong." She pointed to a white kitten with black patches. "He will be Alonzo. And this white queen will be Victoria. I will teach them all to be graceful dancers."

"And I shall teach them to fight both with and without powers." Silas nuzzled his mate.

_Two weeks later_

"Mama! 'Lonzo hit me again!" Victoria whined. Griddlebone sighed.

"Alonzo, please be more careful. Keep practicing, dear." The kittens had gotten their sight and their parents had started their lessons. Mistoffelees and Bethany were practicing their magic, Alonzo was dodging an imaginary enemy, and Victoria was dancing.

Griddlebone smiled when she thought of her kitttens' talents. Mistoffelees was using his powers like a pro and being as small as he was could dance like a swan. Alonzo, being the oldest, threw himself into learning to fight. Dodging, clawing, and kicking, he was making wonderful progress. Victoria, having no powers or interest in fighting, concentrated on dancing. Griddlebone had never seen a more beautiful dancer. Now Bethany, being the youngest, had no one special talent. She was sort of a mix. She was slowly learning her powers, but was having trouble learning it all. Only Alonzo was quicker at dodging, but Bethany couldn't bring herself to use her claws for harm. As for dancing, she was excellent at it, but looked like a klutz next to Victoria. But Bethany was happy. She was very close to her family, especially Mistoffelees.

"Ahhh!" Alonzo's yell jerked Griddlebone back to reality. "Watch where you're aiming that thing!" Alonzo shouted.

"Stop getting in my way!" Mistoffelees shot back.

"Boys, "Griddlebone warned, "stop now before you get in trouble."

"Alonzo," Bethany said, softly, "Misto didn't mean to hit you. You just weren't looking and got in his way."

"Yeah, you're right, sis, "Alonzo said, giving his sister a smile. "Sorry, Sparkplug."

"Yeah, whatever...Cow, "Mistoffelees mumbled.

"Pollicle!"

"Spotty!"

Bethany and Victoria rolled their eyes and giggled.

"Oh, Silas, where are you?" Griddlebone said.

"Right here," a husky voice behind her called.

"Macavity!" she gasped. "No!" Silas lay at Macavity's feet in a puddle of blood.

The kittens huddled together whimpering at the sight of the strange ginger cat.

"Well, Griddlebone, you have two choices. You can give me the kittens or die," Macavity sneered.

"No!" Griddlebone screamed. "You're not getting the kittens!" She whirled around and yelled, "Run, kittens, run!" The kittens gladly obeyed and Griddlebone took off after them. Macavity roared and jumped in their direction. Griddlebone looked up and screamed when she saw Macavity advancing quickly. She felt his claws at her neck.

Bethany heard her mother scream and turned around just in time to see Macavity slash her mother's neck. Griddlebone hit the sidewalk with a sickening thud. Bethany sobbed and ran to catch up to her siblings. She choked out the news as they ran around a corner.

Suddenly the kittens came to a halt. There before them stood a great big pollicle! Victoria and Bethany grabbed each other and screamed!

Alonzo called out, "Run! Go in different directions. It'll confuse him!"

The kittens scattered. Alonzo ran and ran and ran. The pollicle was closing in. Alonzo darted in an alley and hid in a trashcan.

Mistoffelees ran until his sides ached. He was looking behind him when he bumped into a leg. The man reached down and picked him up. "Where did you come from, little guy?" Mistoffelees meowed and rubbed his eyes.

Victoria stopped running when she reached the train station. She glanced behind her to see if anyone followed her. She crawled under a bench and cried herself to sleep.

Bethany was too busy watching for the pollicle that she didn't see the figure in front of her. When she looked up to see who was in her way, a sack came down over her head. She struggled to get free but wasn't strong enough.

"Boss, I got one!" she heard a voice say, excitedly.

"Take it to the lair." Bethany gasped. She knew that voice. It was Macavity! The scared kitten curled up and cried.

Author's Note

Well, much better. I spent 10 minutes trying to figure out how to get this stupid line! Well this was my very first fanfiction I ever wrote. Pathetic, I know. But, hey cut me some slack. Anyway this story is dedicated to Sleeping Tiger, Koishii-Kitsune-Akira, Shadowheart333, and my cousin Bridgette.


	2. Alonzo's Story

A/N, Sasha, Luna, Troy, Silas, and Bethany are my cats. Please don't take them without asking me first. Whew, I thought I was never going to get down this chapter. More is coming, I promise.

The small kitten listened intently. When he heard the fading footsteps he breathed a sigh of relief. He settled down to catch his breath and thought over all the events that had just happened. His parents' deaths, Macavity's appearance, and the pollicles chase. At the thought of his parents, Alonzo bit back a sob. He missed his brother and sisters, sweet Bethany, playful Mistoffelees, and graceful Victoria. With the thought of his siblings, Alonzo couldn't hold the tears in anymore. He sobbed loudly as exhaustion took over his body.

Alonzo awoke to the sounds of human voices and a loud truck. He peeked out of the trash can to see the men coming towards him. He ducked down and hid beneath a discarded box. He felt the trashcan being lifted up.

"Yeow!" Alonzo yelled as he was dumped into the garbage truck.

"Did'cha hear something, Matt?" one of the men asked. "Sounded like a cat."

"We're in an alley. It could be anything." the man named Matt said with a shrug. Alonzo wished he had kept his mouth shut.

When the men left, Alonzo looked around. There was garbage and trash all around. There was a chair in one part of the truck. Suddenly the truck started moving and Alonzo was jerked forward. He grabbed the chair to keep from falling out. The truck sped along through the streets. Scenery flashed before Alonzo's eyes. When the truck stopped, Alonzo was once again jerked forward. But before he could recover, the men came around the truck.

"You see, Matt! I did hear a cat!" one of the men exclaimed. "Here kitty!" He reached for Alonzo. The kitten leapt off the truck and started running. He ran up a mountain of furniture and junk but slipped on the top. He tumbled down the junk and landed with an "Omf" on something soft. He shook his head and looked down into the biggest, greenest, prettiest eyes he had ever seen. The eyes blinked at him and started. Alonzo just sat there staring into those eyes until a voice jerked him awake.

"Tantomile! Are you okay? Who's this guy?"

"Oh, sorry, miss," Alonzo muttered. He scrambled up and helped the black, grey, and white kitten to her feet.

"That's alright," the kitten said with a smile. Alonzo's legs felt like jello. "What's your name?"

"A-a-alonzo," he stammered. "Wh-who are you?"

"I'm Tantomile," she said, shyly. Alonzo rolled the name around on his tongue.

"And I'm Coricopat," came the voice again. A mirror image of Tantomile in a tom's body stood beside her.  
"He's my brother," she said, slightly rolling her eyes. Coricopat glared at his sister. She smiled sweetly at him.

Alonzo shook his head and asked," Where am I?"

"Tantomile, let's do our song!"

"I don't know," Tantomile blushed. She glanced up at Alonzo.

"Please?" he asked.

"Alright," she whispered.

"Yes!" Coricopat said, ethusiastically. "I love this song!" They took their postitions and began to sing.

"_Welcome to the Jellicle Junkyard_

_Where everyone looks like they're covered with lard!_

_Where you won't find any mutts_

_And Cori and Tanto act nutts!"_

They danced one last time and stopped. Alonzo laughed and soon they were rolling on the ground laughing.

Alonzo asked between laughs," How do you dance like that? You's move at the same exact time!"

The two twins sat up simultaneously. "It just happens," Coricopat said.

A grey and black tabby, just a little older than Alonzo, ran up. "Tantomile! Coricopat! What are you doing?" Seeing Alonzo, the tabby hissed.

"Please, Munkustrap," Coricopat rolled his eyes. "Stop acting like you're all that. This is Alonzo and we think he should join the tribe. Old Deuteronomy's coming so we'll ask him."

Munkustrap glared, "Fine." and stalked off.

Tantomile sighed and turned to Alonzo, "C'mon, Old Deuteronomy's coming in." An old tomcat came slowly in the junkyard. All the cats there greeted him. He stopped in front of Tantomile and Coricopat and said, "Who's your friend?" Tantomile blushed. Alonzo could tell she was shy, so he stepped forward.

"I'm Alonzo and I want to become a j-j-," he stumbled over the word.

"Jellicle?" Old Deuteronomy helped.

"Yeah, one of them."

Before Old Deuteronomy could answer, a small red and white kitten came running in screaming, "Pollicle! Pollicle!" Munkustrap immediately got into an attack postion. The sound of barking was getting louder and louder until a huge pitbull lept over a pile of furniture. Munkustrap jumped on his back. The dog threw him off. The tabby cat shook his head and slowly stood up. His face filled with pain, he crashed back down.

Alonzo knew what to do. His weeks of trainin were going to be put to the test. He pounced on the mutt's neck and sank his claws into it. THe dog roared in pain. He reached up to swipe at the kitten, but Alonzo was too small. The dog angrily hit himself again and again trying to rid himself of this menace. As Alonzo distracted the dog, Munkustrap was taken to safety.

Once Munkustrap was safe, two more toms attacked the pollicle. Together, the three cats chased the dog out of the junkyard. Tantomile ran up to Alonzo.

"Are you alright?" she voiced her concern.

"Yeah, I think so," Alonzo said, shakily. "Is Munkustrap okay?"

"Go see for yourself, kid," said one of the other toms. He was a black Maine Coon with leopard spots on his chest and paws. Alonzo could see he was growing a mane. The tom was about the age of Munkustrap. The black cat winked at Tantomile and she blushed.

"I'll take ye, lad," said an orange tabby with a Scottish brogue. Alonzo allowed himself to be led over to where Munkustrap lay.

"Thanks, Alonzo," the tabby smiled. "I don't think anyone else would have done that."

"Well, I was going to," the Maine Coon protested.

"Right, Tugger," Munkustrap rolled his eyes. Tugger glared. Alonzo felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Old Deuteronomy.

"You have done well. For saving a Jellicle you have become a Jellicle. Now come with me. I'll introduce you to everyone."

"We'll do it, Old Deuteronomy." The twins said together. They led him over to the orange tabby.

"I'm Skimbleshanks," he said.

"And I'm the Rum Tum Tugger," said the Maine Coon.

"Yeah, this is Tugger," Skimbleshanks said with a sigh.

"Why do you always say my name like I'm a spoiled brat!" Tugger threw his arms in the air. Skimble just stared at him as if to say "Duh! You are a spoiled brat!"

Tantomile and Coricopat dragged Alonzo to the middle of the junkyard where some cats stood in a circle. The twins led Alonzo into the circle and started introducing him to everyone. Asparagus, an adult tom, and his pregnant mate Jellylorum, Skimbleshanks's mate, Jennyanydots who was also pregnant, the little kitten named Plato, who had screamed "Pollicle!", the two sisters Bombalurina and Demeter, and two Cockney calicos named Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer.

"How old are you, dear?" Jennyanydots asked.

"Mama said I'd be one month tomorrow," Alonzo said with a sniff, "But now she's dead." Alonzo curled up and cried.

"Oh, you poor thing!" Jellylorum said, picking Alonzo up. "You must be exhausted."

Jennyanydots turned to Coricopat and Tantomile. "Why don't you two find our new friend some food, okay?"

"Poor Alonzo!" Tantomile said sadly as she and her brother went to find something to eat. "He's an orphan just like us."

Alonzo stretched and stepped out of the old oven. He was getting too big for it. He was almost a full-grown tom now. He had been living with the Jellicles for almost a year. He was still practicing his fighting and now was the best fighter in the Junkyard. Skimbleshanks had taught him some new tricks to use. Tugger had laughed at this and called the fighting methods "ancient". Alonzo smiled when he thought of the other day when he saw Tugger practicing the "old" methods behind the oven.

"What'cha smiling at, Alonzo?" a small voice asked. Alonzo looked down at three big pairs of eyes.

"Oh, hi, girls," Alonzo answered. "I was just thinking about Tugger, that's all."

"Tugger!" the three kittens squealed, jumping on Alonzo. "Where is he? Where is he?"

"Girls! Girls!" Alonzo yelled in a strained voice. "I didn't say I saw Tugger. Now get off my head, Jemima! And Etcetera, stop jumping on my stomach!" He reached up and pulled the red, white, and black kitten off his head. He then reached down and knocked the black, white, and yellow kitten off his stomach. He looked down at the black and brown kitten holding on to his leg and raised an eyebrow. She grinned and dropped his leg. "Thank you, Electra," he said. "Now please go bother someone else."

"I'm sorry," Jemima said, giving Alonzo her famous Jemima eyes.

"Aww! It's okay," Alonzo said, gently. He clucked Jemima under her chin. "You girls are too cute to hate."

Jemima giggled and ran off with her sisters. When she turned to look back one last time, Alonzo winked at her. She smiled and ran to catch up to the other kittens.

Alonzo sat smiling for awhile, his thoughts on his siblings. Jemima was so much like his sweet sister, Bethany.

"You miss them, don't you?" Tantomile asked. Alonzo jumped slightly. He was used to the twins slinking up silently, but he was still adjusting to their psychic powers.

"Yeah," he sighed. "Even Mistoffelees." Tantomile rubbed up against him and laid her head on his shoulder. Alonzo purred and nuzzled her back. They sat like that for a few precious minutes.

"Oh!" Tantomile exclaimed, jerking up. "Coricopat told me to ask you to go hunting with him. He's probably worried sick." She glanced up at Alonzo. Alonzo was gazing at her beautiful eyes. He bent down and kissed Tantomile on the lips, softly. Tantomile closed her eyes, savoring the moment. Suddenly, she jerked away. She looked away and murmured, "Um, I have to go. You know, Jellylorum asked me to... I mean you shouldn't keep Coricopat waiting." Alonzo nodded and started toward the junkyard entrance. Tantomile turned. She needed to talk to Jennyanydots.

Alonzo's thoughts were a mess when he reached Coricopat. "_Why did she run? Did I scare her? I think I scared myself. I've got to talk to Skimbleshanks."_

"Um, Alonzo? Hello?"

"Huh, oh, sorry. I was just thinking." Coricopat rolled his eyes.

"Well, let's go then!" The two cats ran off chatting like old friends.

Alonzo had cornered a bird and was about to pounce when he heard a scream followed by loud barking. He left his breakfast and raced off towards the sounds. He turned into an alley and saw a Doberman. The pollicle had cornered two Burmese kittens. The older looking one was trying to cover the younger one, but the younger Burmese was hysterical. Alonzo had to act quickly. He slowly crept up behind the Doberman. Suddenly, without warning, he lept up on the dog's back. Coricopat hid the kittens before jumping on the pollicle too.

The Doberman finally gave up. Two, scrawny kittens weren't worth getting beat up by angry tomcats. Breathing hard, Alonzo and Coricopat grinned at each other. Alonzo turned towards the kittens. "Are you's alright?"

"Now we are. Thank you, sirs," the oldest kitten said with a sigh. She glanced warily at her sobbing sister. "Cassie, we need to go now. The pollicle's gone."

"Uh, miss?" Alonzo started, "You girls can come with us."

"Thank you again, Mr..."

"Alonzo and this is Coricopat."

"Right, well, thank you both. I'm Exotica and this is my sister, Cassandra." She started to pick up her sister.

"Oh, no! I'll carry her." Alonzo stepped in. He placed the terrified kitten on his back and started towards the junkyard.

Tantomile came over from her talk with Jennyanydots to the crowd in the middle of the junkyard. As she got closer, she heard Alonzo's voice. Her brother slunk out of the crowd and moved towards her.

"_What's happening?" _Tantomile asked Coricopat.

"_Alonzo and I found two lost queens. Their names are Cassandra and Exotica._" Coricopat answered.

_"I want to see them. Are they okay?"_ Tantomile asked. Coricopat nodded and they silently headed back to the kittens. Tantomile held back a gasp when she saw Alonzo's scratches. The smallest kitten was hiding between his forelegs. The older one stood up and said, "My name is Exotica and my little sister is Cassandra. Alonzo and Coricopat rescued us from a pollicle. We are forever in their debts and we wish to remain here until we find our uncle and aunt."

"Who is your uncle and aunt?" Skimbleshanks asked.

"Luna and Troy, " she replied. A loud murmur went throught the crowd and everyone turned to look at Coricopat and Tantomile.

The twins stepped forward together and said, "Luna and Troy were our mother and father, but now are dead."

Exotica's shoulders slumped and Cassandra cried again.

"You will stay here of course," Alonzo said, trying to quiet Cassandra down. Exotica glanced at Tantomile and Coricopat. They nodded and at this Exotica smiled.

"Thanks, I don't know what we'd do without you."

Alonzo introduced everyone to Exotica and Cassandra. Cassandra seemed to like Jennyanydots' kittens, Jemima, Electra, and Etcetera, but stuck close to Alonzo. Both Exotica and Cassandra were shy around the tom kittens, Admetus, Plato, Pouncival, and Tumblebrutus. When Rum Tum Tugger winked at the two of them, Cassandra blushed, but Exotica just rolled her eyes. Both Cassandra and Exotica liked Skimbleshanks. Cassandra loved Bombalurina and gazed at admiration at the tall, beautiful queen. Bombalurina immediately took the little queen under her wing.

Jellylorum and Jennyanydots asked Exotica questions about her family. They found out that Exotica and Cassandra were the daughters of Ghenghis and Sasha. Ghenghis was an old Egyptian actor who had played in Growltiger's Last Stand. Sasha had been Luna's sister. They also found out that Exotica was going to become an adult around the same time as Alonzo. Cassandra thought was still a kitten. She was a little younger than Exotica and would become an adult next year. When asked if she could dance, Exotica became excited. "Well, I can't," she said, "but Cassie's the best dancer I've seen!" Bombalurina snorted at that.

"Dance for us, Cassie!" Exotica urged.

Cassandra shrank down and whispered, "No."

"I'll dance with you, Cassie," Alonzo said, for he was eager to see this kitten dance. Cassandra agreed to this and soon she and Alonzo were dancing together in the center of the junkyard. Alonzo couldn't help but compare Cassandra to Victoria. Victoria danced elegantly and smoothly. Whereas Cassandra danced more Egyptian like. She did cartwheels and moved her body in slinky, snakelike movements. Thinking of Victoria, Alonzo felt weary. He motioned to Bombalurina and the kittens to come dance with Cassandra. The boys all gladly jumped in.

Tantomile saw Alonzo start walking away and headed towards him. But as she neared him, Cassandra flew over to him and buried herself in his chest. Alonzo looked down startled , then turned around and glared. Pouncival and Tumblebrutus stared wide-eyed and pointed at each other. Admetus shakily cried, "I didn't mean to make her cry! I only said, 'Hi!' " The poor kitten was almost in tears.

Alonzo sighed and looked down at Cassandra. "Cassandra, it's alright. That's only Admetus. He won't hurt you." The kitten only whimpered. Exotica walked over and tried to soothe the trembling kitten.

She looked up at Alonzo, "I think you may remind her of our father. Cassie was close to him."

"She'll stay with me, I guess," Alonzo said.

Over the next few weeks, Alonzo and Cassandra were inseperable. He was like the big brother she never had and she reminded him of Victoria. If Cassandra had a problem, she went to Alonzo.

The Jellice Ball had come and Alonzo, Exotica, Tantomile, Coricopat, Mungojerrie, and Demeter all became adults. Tantomile had tried numerous times to talk to Alonzo, but every time she tried, Cassandra would run up with a problem. Tantomile began to think that Alonzo didn't care for her anymore. She felt replaced with Burmese kitten.

The day after the ball, Alonzo sat washing himself when a commotion arose near the tire. Everyone was gathered around Skimbleshanks. Alonzo peeked over the kittens' heads and saw a white kitten wearing a blue collar. "Victoria!" he gasped.


	3. Victoria's Story

The little white kitten jumped at the sound of the train pulling into the station. She peeked out from under the bench and squinted in the sunlight. People were rushing around, grabbing baggage, and coming off and going on the train.

An orange tabby came walking jauntly down the platform. The kitten heard several humans call out "Hiya, Skimble!" or "Good morning, Skimbleshanks!"

"_He looks nice enough_," she thought to herself. She ran over to the big tom and said, "Excuse me, Mr. Skimbleshanks?"

The orange cat smiled at the white cat, "What can I do for ye, lass?"

"My name's Victoria," she answered, "and I'm lost."

"Do ye have an owner?" Skimbleshanks asked.

"No," she answered quietly.

"Well, before I can help you, I have some business to do. Why don't I get you an owner, okay, Victoria?"

"Okay, but first, what is an owner?"

"An owner's a human who will feed ye and give ye a place to sleep, " the kind cat explained.

"That sounds nice," Victoria said, sweetly. Skimbleshanks picked her up and started walking towards a formally dressed young girl. He set Victoria down infront of the human and raced off. Victoria called out to him, but her attempts were futile.

"Oh, look, Mom!" she heard the girl cry. "This kitten is so cute and she doesn't have a collar! Can I keep her, Mom, please?" The young girl picked up Victoria. Blue eyes met brown eyes and a bond was formed.

"I'm not sure, Rose," an older human said, "We'll take her home and ask your father."

Victoria soon found herself herself infront of a big, white house, mansion really. Rose took her inside and gave her some milk. Victoria played around the house for awhile before settling down on Rose's bed and going to sleep.

The kitten awoke to the sound of yelling voices. Rose ran in the room and slammed the door. "Oh, kitty," she sobbed out. "Daddy said I can't keep you. We have to take you to the pound." Victoria didn't know what "pound" meant but it didn't sound good. The kitten curled up next to Rose and cried herself back to sleep.

The next morning, Rose's mother fed Victoria some milk and put her in a box. Victoria didn't know what was going on until the box stopped moving. She heard dogs barking and knew this must be the pound. She peeked out of a hole in the side of the box. She saw a big, grey building with a high fence around it.

The woman said some things to a man at a desk and before Victoria knew it she was in a cage the size of a shoebox. The kitten collapsed and let out her sobs.

"Oh, shut up, will you!" a grumpy voice said.

'Stop it, Copious! The poor thing's scared to death," a female voice said.

"Yeah, well, this poor thing's trying to get some sleep. Someone was snoring last night," the cat named Copious grumbled.

"It was probably you, dimwit! You know, I know why your mom called you Copious. She probably said, 'This one's going to give me plenty of complaining!'" the female voice shot back.

"Alright, you two, that's enough!" a deep female voice scolded.

Victoria poked her head out throught the cage. She looked next to her and gasped when she saw a cat smiling back at her.

"Hi, I'm Ticksy," the queen said. She was a white queen with a black sideways V on her stomach. The stripes reminded Victoria of hands on a clock she saw in Rose's room.

Victoria turned her head the other way and a black cat with white stripes grinned sheepishly at her. "Hi, I'm Copious," he told her.

"And I'm Joanna, but you can call me Aunt Jo," a deep, motherly voice said. Victoria looked up and a big Himalayan cat winked above her.

"I'm Victoria," she said, shyly. Copious began humming "God Save The Queen". Ticksy did a drum roll on her cage wall with her tail. Victoria giggled and blushed.

When she glanced over at Copious, she just stared. He was gone! "Oh, no!" she gasped. "What happened?"

"Copious," Aunt Jo scolded. "Don't do this to her. She's new."

Victoria heard chuckling and Copious slowly appeared before her eyes. "I'm baaack," he said, laughing.

"You're a magician, too?" the kitten asked excitedly.

"Why, are you one? I just disappear."

"No," Victoria sadly sighed, "but my brother and sister are. If they are still alive," she added, quietly.

"What do you mean?" Ticksy asked. Victoria slowly told her story. Then she turned and fell asleep.

When the white kitten woke up, there was a bowl of cat food in her cage. After eating and washing herself, she talked with Ticksy, played with Copious, and talked some more with Aunt Jo. This was pretty much Victoria's schedule over the next few weeks. Every day, a man in a uniform came and let them out into a big, open area. There they could stretch and play for an hour. Victoria practiced her dancing then.

Victoria awoke one morning to a bright, sunny day. She stretched as best as she could and started to eat her breakfast. As she was cleaning herself, the man came in with a teenage girl and a woman.

The girl started walking down the rows of cages. She stopped in front of Victoria. "Oh, Mom, look at this one! Her eyes are so blue. She looks like an angel. I want this one!" the girl exclaimed. She and her mom stood there looking at Victoria and saying how adorable she was. The frightened kitten huddled in the back of the cage.

The man came around and opened the cage door. Victoria was plopped into the girl's arms. As the girl started walking away, Victoria called out, "Aunt Jo! Ticksy! Copious! Help me!"

Aunt Jo sat up, "It's okay, honey. You'll be fine. She's your new owner."

The girl climbed into a car and placed Victoria on her lap. "Wait 'til you meet Rose. She'll love you, Angel." Victoria purred in reply.

The car pulled up to a house that looked almost identical to Rose's. Seeing the house, Victoria's heart sank. She never forgot Rose.

Once again, Victoria was taken inside and fed. As she looked around her new home, she felt content. There were toys she could play with, a scratching post, and a comfortable bed(even though she preferred the human bed).

The next day, her owner, whose name Victoria heard was Nikki, placed something around Victoria's neck. Nikki placed Victoria in front of her bedroom mirror. "Look, Angel!" Nikki said. "Do you like your new collar?" Victoria looked at her reflection. The sky blue collar had diamonds around it. The color set off her eyes beautifully. Victoria meowed and rubbed Victoria's leg.

In a few days, Victoria was allowed outside. Nikki's dad had built a cat-door for her. The first time Victoria tried the cat-door she had gotten her tail stuck. Victoria had won the hearts of Nikki's whole family.

One day, a few weeks later, Victoria decided to visit Rose. Rose turned out to be Nikki's best friend so Victoria saw her a lot. As Victoria was walking along, she decided to go down a different street.

After walking a few blocks, Victoria became strangely aware that she had been here before. "_Don't be silly!_" she thought to herself. "_You've never even seen this place."_ But what she saw next stopped her in her tracks.

She had turned into an alley. At the end of the alley was a box with a blanket hanging out. Dried blood was splattered in two places. Burnt marks covered one wall. Claw marks covered another wall. This was her old home.

Victoria collapsed as the memories swept over her. Her and her siblings playing, arguing, laughing. Her mother and father scolding, teaching, and loving. The white kitten covered her head and sobbed.

Suddenly, Victoria shot up. "I have to find them," she said aloud. "I have to find my family." She raced off forgetting about Rose. She ran up and down streets, asking any cat she saw. Finally she returned home to Nikki, exhausted, hungry, and low.

The next day, Victoria was off again. She continued this for a week until one day a thought popped in her head. "Skimbleshanks!" she exclaimed. "He can help me!" She raced off to the train station and sure enough there was the orange tabby.

"Mr. Skimbleshanks!" she called out.

The orange cat looked up in surprise. "Well, hello there, lass. Haven't seen you in a while."

"I was wondering if I could ask you a favor?"

"That would depend on the favor, lass."

Victoria quickly told him her story. A strange light cam into Skimble's eyes when Victoria described Alonzo.

"You'd better come with me then lass," Skimbleshanks said, gently. Victoria curiously followed him to a junkyard. When they went inside, a large group of cats gathered around them. Victoria smiled shyly at three kittens her age.

Suddenly she heard someone gasp, "Victoria!" Alonzo stood behind the kittens with his mouth open.

"Alonzo?" Victoria couldn't believe her eyes. Suddenly she was swinging around in Alonzo's arms. She laughed and hugged her brother tightly. "I thought I'd never see you again." she said, trying to hold back the tears.

"I'm going to make sure you never have to say that again," Alonzo said, tapping her nose. "I'll follow you everywhere!" Victoria giggled and hugged him again.

"Come with me," Alonzo said. "I want you to meet some friends of mine." He led her over to two identical black, white, and brown striped cats. "This is Tantomile," he said, pointing to the queen. The queen smiled and nodded at Victoria, but her eyes were on Alonzo.

"And this is Coricopat," Alonzo said and nodded to the tom. Victoria smiled sweetly at the handsome tom in front of her.

"_He seems nice_," Victoria thought as the tom grinned at her.

"Thank you," Coricopat said to her. Victoria's mouth dropped. She glanced back between Alonzo and Coricopat.

"They're psychic," Alonzo explained. Alonzo took Victoria's paw and led her around the circle of cats. She immediately struck up a relationship with Electra, Etcetera, and Jemima. The tom kittens seemed to like her until Alonzo glared at them. Jennyanydots and Jellylorum asked her different questions about her age.

"I suppose you'll become an adult with Plato next ball," Jellylorum said.

After Victoria met everyone, the three girl kittens took her to play a game. Alonzo thanked Skimbleshanks.

"You don't know how much this means to me," he said.

"It's alright. She's such a sweet thing," Skimble said.

"Yeah, she is," said Coricopat, walking up. The four kittens were now talking to Rum Tum Tugger. As always, Tugger had played his cards well and Victoria was all over him.

That night as Alonzo walked Victoria home, she couldn't stop saying how much fun she had.

"I'll be back for you tomorrow," Alonzo said, giving his sister a hug.

Victoria's schedule was mostly the same over the next few weeks. Every morning, Alonzo came and took her to the junkyard. There she played with the kittens or talked to Alonzo. Sometimes Cassandra would join them, but she hung out mostly with Bombalurina.

Victoria's friends had noticed something about her. When they sat talking or even playing, she would always do this one thing that confused them. She kept looking over her shoulder. At first her friends thought she was looking for her brother, but one day Electra noticed something else. She decided to talk to Victoria about it.

"You like Coricopat, don't you?" Electra probed.

"Of cource, I like him. He's a very nice tom."

"Oh, come on, Victoria!" Electra cried. "You know I don't mean that way! You like him like a crush-like him.

"Okay, okay! Maybe I do like him a little. Okay, a lot," she said at Electra's frown. "But, 'Lect, he's an adult and I'm just a kitten. And his best friend's little sister too!"

"You're going to be an adult in a few months," Electra said. "And the best friend's little sister thing won't matter."

"Maybe," Victoria said with a sigh. "I'm gonna take a walk." The white queen walked slowly into a different section of the junkyard. She had never been out of the Jellicle part, so this was all new to her. She heard some music and followed the sound to a pretty, little box. The box was brown with a picture of a butterfly drawn on the top. The butterfly was surrounded by green gems. Victoria saw a small key and turned it. She opened the box and the soft music began to play again. She listened for a minute and then decided to dance.

She made up a dance as the melody played out. Victoria played the music box again and again. She closed her eyes and lost herself in the music. She felt someone come up behind her and catch her waist. They began to dance with her. When the music ended, Victoria turned to see her partner. "Coricopat!" she gasped.

Coricopat grinned down at her. She looked at the ground, blushing. Coricopat lifted her head up and looked into her eyes.

"Did I startle you?" he asked, gently.

"No," she whispered.

"Alonzo's looking her you. I came out here to find you and..." Coricopat trailed off. Victoria blushed again. Coricopat took her arm and started to walk her to the Jellicle section of the junkyard. "You dance beautifully," he said, suddenly.

"Thank you," she smiled. "My mother taught me."

"Victoria!" Alonzo shouted when he saw them. "Come here quick!"

"What?" Victoria said, curiously.

"Look who I found!" Alonzo pushed a small black queen with a white face forward. The queen smiled and threw her arms around Victoria.

"Oh, Victoria!" she cried. "I never thought I'd see you again!"

"Bethany!" Victoria smiled. She held her sister at arm's length. "Let me look at you." Alonzo walked up next to Bethany and wrapped his arm around her. Victoria gasped when she saw the queen's body. "What happened, Bethany?" Bethany immediately sobered up.


End file.
